Co-founder of Russia's top search engine in coma

By the Associated Press | July 25, 2013 | 2:37 PM EDT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's largest search engine, Yandex, said Thursday that its co-founder Ilya Segalovich is on life support in a coma.

Yandex director general Arkady Volozh had said earlier in the day on the company's blog that Segalovich, who was undergoing treatment for cancer, had died. But within a few hours, the company corrected the statement.

It said the initial word about his death had come from the family, but further information indicated Segalovich was on life support with no brain function. The company said it was waiting for more details.

Segalovich, 48, crated Yandex in 1997 with Volozhh, his school friend. The company has been a Russian success story, with a share of 62 percent of the search engine market compared with Google's 25.6 percent.

Segalovich invented the engine's name, derived from Yet Another Index, and served as its chief technological officer.

Volozh praised his "encyclopedic knowledge of technologies and a clear vision of product."